All I Need Is You (34 page)

A SCREECHING ALARM blared above their heads and they both covered their ears. Eli used the distraction to run out of the room and into the hallway. He collapsed against the wall and clutched his arm where the first bullet had grazed him. It was just a flesh wound. The thick leather of his coat had taken the worst of it. The alarm fell silent and then blared again.
 

“What the hell is that sound?” Justice screamed from the other room.
 

Eli was grateful for the erratic noise because it was the only way he’d known that Kay was safe. Unless someone had his password to get on his laptop, the only other way to control the system was through the computer in the panic room. He wasn’t sure exactly what Kay was doing, but her messing with the security system could give him an opportunity.
 

That’s my girl
, he thought. It sounded like she was running a system test. Even if she didn’t know how to operate the security system properly, she could create enough distraction for him to have an advantage.
 

“Boss, I need you to get him closer to the back doors.” Tank’s voice startled him. Eli had forgotten he was wearing the earpiece. “I’ve got rounds that go through glass, but it’ll be easier if I have a clear shot.”

Eli ran into the kitchen and behind the island. If he was going to get Justice in position, he’d have to back himself into a section of the kitchen behind the counter and hope he followed.
 

It was a risk. It would leave him vulnerable because he’d have the oven at his back, so he’d have to take a leap of faith and trust that his guys would come through for him.

“You know, I was going to let her live,” Justice mused, his voice thoughtful. He sounded close. Eli peered around the island, taking note of the other man’s position at the entrance to the kitchen. He stood slowly, his weapon on Justice the entire time.
 

“Who?”
 

“Your girl.
Kaylee.
Such a pretty name. And that voice.
Mmm, mmm.
” Justice ran his tongue over his lips. “I’ve never been into thick girls like you are, but I’m starting to see the error of my ways. I bet she tastes like heaven.”

Eli’s fingers tightened around his weapon. “You’re going to stay the hell away from her, that’s what you’re going to do.”

Justice laughed. “You’re not in the position to tell me what I’m going to do. That was always your problem, you know. You never knew when to accept that you’d been beaten. One of the most stubborn trainees I ever had. It’s what made you so tough, but it’s also what made you so easy to track. You never could let go of the things you couldn’t have.”

“I don’t like letting go, but we all have our faults. Yours was always your arrogance. That’s what led you here in the first place. This revenge you’ve spent the last year seeking, and it was all for nothing. I wasn’t the one who betrayed you. I was just a stupid kid who thought you were my friend.”

“It
really
wasn’t you?”
 

“No, it wasn’t me. But I’m sure as hell glad it happened because I’ve learned something over the past few years, too. I’ve learned about friendship and trust. You were always so sure you were smarter than everyone else, and you couldn’t trust anyone to have your back.”

“Trust is for fools.”

“It’s the one thing you can’t understand, and it’s the reason why I’ve won.”
 

“You haven’t won shit. I’m still holding a gun pointed directly at your heart.”

Eli shrugged.

Justice’s eyes narrowed, rage all over his face. “You think I won’t shoot you?”

“I know you will, but I’m not that worried about it. Because I know something you don’t know.”

Eli stopped moving and Justice did, too. He stood directly in front of the gaping hole in the sliding glass door.

“Oh and what’s that?”

“That the guys I employ are better shots than I am.”

A second later there was a soft thud, and Justice dropped to the ground. Eli dove to the side, covering his head with his hands as the cabinets where he’d been standing were plastered with bullets. There was a soft moan and then the sound of the front door being kicked in.
 

“FBI, show me your hands!”
 

Eli dropped his weapon and put his hands on top of his head. The SWAT team fanned out, yelling instructions as they secured each room. A moment later, he saw Agent Harris. He lowered his hands and let out a heavy breath. He’d been strangely calm until this moment, but now his heart was racing and his pulse pounded like a drumbeat in his head.

“Good work, Elliott. We’ve got him.”

Suddenly the room was swarming with people. The SWAT team, FBI agents, and then a team of paramedics barreled in. He watched as they loaded Justice onto a stretcher.
 

One of the paramedics spoke directly to Agent Harris. “He’ll be okay. It was in the shoulder. But the bullet needs to come out.”
 

Eli crossed to the french doors. Tank stood on the lawn of the house behind his. He raised his hand in greeting and Eli waved back.

Agent Harris approached. “Great work here, Elliott. Since Zeus is still alive, hopefully we can get all the information we need from him.”

Eli nodded, his thoughts still jumbled from everything that had happened. Everything he’d learned. “Did you know he was behind all this?”

Agent Harris’s lips thinned. “I’m not at liberty to say. So I’ll just say again, good work.”

Eli pushed away from the counter and headed toward the back of the house.
 

“Where are you going, Mr. Alexander? We need to debrief you.”

Eli didn’t even slow down. “Consider me debriefed. My woman is stuck in a closet. I need to get her out and to a safe place.”

WHEN THE DOORS to the panic room slid open, Kay and Mara both scrambled to their feet. Eli’s head appeared in the small entryway. Kay’s heart leaped.

“It’s safe to come out now. It’s over.”

She ran across the room and collided with his chest. He lifted her off her feet. “It’s all over.”

They followed him back out to the living room. Mara ran to her brother and jumped into his arms. Kay surveyed the damage done to the room. It looked like the aftermath of an earthquake in the kitchen. There was glass over the floor and the back door was smashed in.
 

For the next two hours, they waited as the police questioned them about everything that had happened. Kaylee was already tired of telling the story, and she hadn’t even told anyone she knew yet.
 

Just then, the doors to the house opened and she heard a familiar voice. “Where is my baby? Young man, I don’t care if you’re FBI or DIY, you’d better get out of my way. Elliott!”

Eli got up from the couch where he’d been talking to one of the FBI agents he’d introduced her to. “Mom? Is that you?”

Julia suddenly appeared, pushing past all the FBI and ATF agents in her way. “Of course it’s me.”

“What are you doing here?”

Jackson appeared behind her, followed by Mark Alexander. “I called her. Matt called to warn me not to return to the house. Once I realized what was happening, I called Mom as soon as I hung up. I knew she’d want to know.”

“Of course he called me. We came straight here. I was so worried.” She grabbed Eli around the waist and didn’t let go. He held her, letting her sob openly on his shirt.
 

When her tears subsided, she wiped at her cheeks. “That’s it. You’re definitely coming back home now where I can keep an eye on you.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Eli pulled her in for another hug, which apparently shocked Julia but made her very happy.
 

“We came with the Wilhelms. I knew they’d want to know their daughter was all right.”

Kay’s heart sank. “You brought my parents with you?” As soon as the words left her mouth, her mother’s face appeared amidst the crowd. She skirted around the policemen and agents, looking like she was afraid they’d contaminate her if their bodies touched.
 

Oh no.

“What is this I hear about you all being shot at? And where was the baby during all this?” Henrietta exclaimed as soon as she reached Kaylee’s side. She took Hope from Kay’s arms and hugged her.
 

Kay pulled her mother away from the crowd so everyone else wouldn’t have to hear her mom’s criticisms. “She was here, too. I had her safe in the panic room with me the whole time.”

“This is just too much. You should have just left Hope with us. You know I would have kept her. Why didn’t you call if you thought you were in this kind of danger?”

“I didn’t know we’d end up being shot at, Mom. And you know what? I don’t call or come by more often because I can’t take hearing what a screwup I am every single time. Or seeing that look on your face that shows how disappointed you are in me.”

Kaylee registered the shock on her mother’s face, but she was on a roll now and couldn’t stop. All the things she should have said over the years tumbled out in a big, jumbled rush.
 

“All I ever hear from you is how badly I’m ruining my life and Hope’s future. How I make stupid decisions. I know I’m an embarrassment to you. I’m doing the best I can, but it’s still scary. It would be really great to have you hold my hand and tell me that you understand and that you’re there for me.”

Her mother’s face had hardened and she handed Hope back with stiff arms. “I don’t know what I’ve ever done to deserve this. I’ve tried to be there for you, Kaylee. I really have.”

“I know you’ve tried. But you know what I really wish? All this time I wished you could stop being embarrassed by me long enough to just be my mom.”

Eli put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to his side as her mother turned and walked away.

Her father looked between them awkwardly before he squeezed Kay’s arm. “I’m sorry, pumpkin.”

She pulled him into a quick hug. It wasn’t his fault that she and her mother couldn’t get along. “I’m sorry too, Daddy. Go ahead and follow her. You’ll never hear the end of it otherwise.”

Eli rubbed her arm as they watched them go. “She’ll come around. You’ve never stood up to her before. I think she’ll need a little recovery time before she learns to deal with it. But I’m proud of you.”

Kay hugged him back, his words reassuring her. She hated to think of having a rift with her mother, but she’d finally learned that others could only treat her the way she allowed them to treat her. She’d been through so much lately. She was proud of how far she’d come, and she wasn’t accepting put-downs anymore.

From anyone.

“Can we get out of here?”

Eli looked back at the cluster of agents behind them. “Gladly. I’ve had enough of this scene to last a lifetime.”

OVER THE NEXT few weeks, Elliott learned the true meaning of family. After a long discussion with Kaylee about it, he’d decided to tell them the truth. Family was about people who accepted you, warts and all. He’d been afraid of their reaction to his failings, but in the end, they’d rallied around him in a way that humbled him.

Mara had gotten a recommendation from her friend Danny for an attorney who specialized in criminal law. It turned out Agent Harris had counted on Eli not being aware of all his rights. Since he’d never been formally charged with anything, his new lawyer was going over the details of his case carefully to see what obligations he had, if any, to continue being involved in the FBI’s case.
 

Now that it was all over and he had some distance from the situation, he realized he was happy to help out. However, if he did, it would be because he wanted to, not because of a threat hanging over his head. His lawyer thought he had reason to be optimistic, and he felt lighter than he had in years.

“Do you want another biscuit, Eli?”

He looked up to see his mother offering him a plate of homemade rolls. His stomach growled and he grabbed another one off the plate. His mother had insisted he stay at their house when he moved back to town. It seemed that after years of him being absent, she wasn’t ready to let him out of her sight yet.